DuckTales Remastered

Whenever a game gets remade, there's
always a degree of improvement over the original to be expected, but
equally important is the retention of the feel of what made the
original game so memorable to begin with. DuckTales: Remastered does
both in such a masterful way that you'd believe this was the game
Capcom intended to make way back on the NES.

Words cannot describe the sheer
attention to detail that has been put into this meticulous
reimagining. Every 8-bit sprite has been lavishly redrawn to resemble
the style from the show, and brought to life with that charmingly
smooth and subtle animation that you'd expect from
WayForward. The painted background art, courtesy of Disney veterans
Mike Peraza and Rick Evans, is crafted into 3D platforms with layered
background scrolling. It complements the 2D characters wonderfully
and is never so distracting that you'd lose focus on enemies or
items.

The music has been remixed with modern
styles and instruments that match the various locales Scrooge visits
throughout the game. Extra nostalgia points are awarded for the
wonderful mash-up of the original 8-bit theme music that’s
blended perfectly with the instrumentals from Mark Mueller's version
from the cartoon.

Likely the most important addition to the mix is that
the game now features a fleshed-out story that ties everything
together, complete with fully voiced dialogue by the official Disney
cast from the show. In the original NES version, Scrooge simply
ventures to five seemingly arbitrary locations in search of treasure
and relics, with no explanation as to why he wants these particular
items. It was also possible to blunder your way into a boss room and
clear the stage within minutes of starting a level. In the remake,
however, each level now has an individual storyline with progressing
goals that require you to explore every nook and cranny to fill a
checklist of items before the boss area opens. Some parts of levels
have been redesigned, expanded, or removed entirely in order to make
things flow more naturally.

To better incorporate the new story,
two entirely new levels have been added to the game; it's a vast
improvement over the original, which made you visit the Transylvania
level three separate times in order to finish the game. The story
even goes so far as to explain some strange details that were fairly
obscure in the original game. Why did Flintheart Glomgold suddenly
team up with Magica De Spell in the final scenes of the game? Just
what were the Beagle Boys doing in that cave beneath the moon's
surface? And how could everyone breathe comfortably up there in the
first place? It's all written into the experience now, and never
feels forced or out of place.

What is perhaps the only downfall is
that the levels frequently pause to give more story explanation as
Scrooge comes across a roadblock or finds a key item required to
progress. While the dialogue is true to character and very witty
(you'd have to be heartless not to crack a smile at the delightful
banter between Scrooge and Launchpad), it can also get quite lengthy.
Fortunately you have the option to skip it, which comes in handy for
repeated playthroughs. Sadly, I also came across some severe audio
glitches during the final battle and even a Wii U crash during my
time with the game. Rest assured WayFoward is well aware of these
issues and is working on fixing them in an update patch even as I
write this. In the meantime, a quick reboot of the game will solve
any problems that come up.

Bugs aside, this is a game that raises
the bar for HD remakes of classics. There is a huge gallery of bonus
art and music to buy with your collected treasure. The controls and physics are
as tight as ever—purists can even select “Hard Pogo” mode for
retro “Down-Y” NES controls. There's an unlockable option to play
the game with the original 8-bit music—even the new tunes have
8-bit renditions to match the classic themes. It's truer to the source
material than even the original game was, and everything feels just
right. Should you buy this game? If you liked the original NES
version, yes. If you also liked the DuckTales cartoon, double yes.
Young'uns who never experienced either of those certainly won't be
able to appreciate this remake as much, but it's still a prime
example of a solid, fun platformer with some decent challenge to be
had.

I sincerely hope WayForward gets the opportunity to remaster
DuckTales 2 in the near future.

Summary

Pros

Expanded story wth bigger supporting cast roles

Level changes were made for the better

Masterful animation

More options and extra content than you could ask for

The official voice cast returns!

Cons

Frequent cinematics halt the action (but can be skipped)

Not much appeal for newcomers

Unfortunate glitches

Talkback

What other NES era game series should Wayforward remake? I would not mid seeing them remake the old TMNT games, or Bionic Commando. Wayforward is one of those developers that can do no wrong, so I look forward to whatever they offer in the future.

I'm tempted to get the Steam version, but I think I'm going to hold out for my eventual purchase of a Wii U. I've been surprised that some of the reviews out there were so negative, and many cited poor controls as part of the reason they docked the score. I'm glad to read that wasn't your experience.

In as far as old retro games go, if I had my wish, Wayforward (or someone else) would obtain the license to remake Clash at Demonhead, Crystalis or Magic of Scheherazade.

Yeah, I saw a few reviews complaining about "pinpoint jumping required", and that's simply not true. I think what a lot of newcomers don't realize is that in order for Scrooge's pogo bounce to work properly, you have to land on a flat surface - that is to say, landing right on the corner edge of a platform won't initiate the bounce jumping and carelessness will lead to Scrooge walking off the edge. That's how it was in the NES game, it's how it is now, and it makes sense.Hard Pogo is a little tricky to initiate with an analogue stick (as opposed to a D-pad) and after trying it for old time's sake I quickly reverted to the new control scheme, but it's just a matter of taste.

There are a few level segments with tricky platforming to be sure, but no NES game is without a little difficulty and it's never harder than anything in, say, Mega Man or even Super Mario Bros. 3. Heck, there's even three difficulty levels to choose from when you start the game, and Easy Mode has infinite lives!

This generation has been spoiled by quicktime events and lengthy tutorials, and there will never be any death in this game that wasn't the direct fault of the person with the controller. To put it in an appropriately ducky fashion: those quack reviewers out there blaming controls or complaining about difficulty need to harden the pluck up.

What other NES era game series should Wayforward remake? I would not mid seeing them remake the old TMNT games, or Bionic Commando. Wayforward is one of those developers that can do no wrong, so I look forward to whatever they offer in the future.

story even goes so far as to explain some strange details that were fairly obscure in the original game. Why did Flintheart Glomgold suddenly team up with Magica De Spell in the final scenes of the game? Just what were the Beagle Boys doing in that cave beneath the moon's surface?

This is such a modern way to look at it. As a kid I never questioned this stuff. It's a videogame based on a cartoon so naturally all the major villains of the cartoon are going to be bosses in the game. Flintheart and Magica team up because they both naturally HAVE to be in the videogame version of DuckTales and having one as the underling as the other would seem out of place. The Beagle Boys are on the moon because they had to be in some level. This was all the explanation necessary at the time.

But then older games can easily get away with this stuff because the graphics were less detailed and everything came across as more like an abtract representation of a concept. Levels for example never really looked like a real place but rather some obstacle course with graphic flourishes that suggested a real place. The technology didn't allow for elaborate cut scenes so the story was "rescue so-and-so" or "stop the bad guys from taking over the world". The limitations were such that so much of the detail was filled in by the player's imagination. So a DuckTales game with graphics somewhat resembling the TV show and all the major characters was enough for the player to fill in the blanks themselves and feel like they were playing the cartoon.

But with today's technology you CAN explain why the Beagle Boys are on the moon so you do, because it would seem incomplete if you didn't.

This generation has been spoiled by quicktime events and lengthy tutorials, and there will never be any death in this game that wasn't the direct fault of the person with the controller. To put it in an appropriately ducky fashion: those quack reviewers out there blaming controls or complaining about difficulty need to harden the pluck up.

They weren't "smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies!"

Beat it once, restarted it and... oh man, I'm realizing how lucky I was the first time I played the final level as its cruel at the very end to get that far and die so quickly to have to do it all over again. Too bad money collected doesn't count to your total unless you beat the level, as at least I would feel productive with all those failed attempts to beat it again this afternoon.

Quote from: Kytim89

What other NES era game series should Wayforward remake?

DuckTales 2 would be awesome. Its a fun follow up and is really expensive right now for a brand new cart.